Java Daisies
by moonswirl
Summary: A different ending to the finale, I think the title pretty much gives it away... note: There WILL be a sequel...


JAVA DAISIES  
  
  
"Bye," said Lorelai as she watched Luke go.  
  
"So are we going?" asked Max, feeling slightly uncomfortable but trying not to show it.  
  
"Uh, yeah. Just wanted to make sure you two were through swinging those things around. Someone's bound to lose an eye," she replied.  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked, although he knew what she meant.  
  
"Nothing," she said, shrugging it off, "I'll get my purse." She walked into the living room, Max close behind her.  
  
"So not to be blunt, but is that over?"  
  
"Is what over?" she said, looking to him.  
  
"Whatever's going on that I just walked in on," he said, waving his finger around the room.  
  
"Oh Max, come on, that's Luke," she defended.  
  
"I kind of picked something up there."  
  
"Okay. Well, drop it back on the ground and kick it under the couch, because there is no there there," she said, starting to feel nervous.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. I mean, we were apart for quite a while. I never assumed you joined a convent."  
  
"Max..."  
  
"I mean, it's not like I didn't date while we were apart."  
  
"You dated?" she asked surprise.  
  
"A little," he added.  
  
"A little person?" she inquired.  
  
"No, I dated a little," he corrected.  
  
"Okay. Well, I didn't expect you to join a manvent or whatever the male equivalent of that is called. Who did you date?" she asked.  
  
"A monastery."  
  
"You dated a monastery?"  
  
"No, a monastery is the male equivalent of a convent."  
  
"Thank you Mr. Medina. I'll make a note for the quiz on Friday," she snapped.  
  
"I didn't know if I'd ever see you again," he explained.  
  
"No, I get it. Yes. We were apart. And, uh, you know, I didn't exactly remain inactive."  
  
"So you did date Luke?" he concluded.  
  
"No, I did not date Luke," she insisted.  
  
"You can tell me."  
  
"I did not date Luke," she said, attempting not to yell.  
  
"There was a vibe."  
  
"There was no vibe. What is with the questioning? You won't tell me who you dated."  
  
"There's no one you know," he stated.  
  
"Okay, well, did you date like casual nothing type dating or did you date like get down, soul train kind of dating?"  
  
"Well, I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but to be honest, it was the latter."  
  
"Good, good. Okay. Well, I like your honesty. Because I mean you could've lied and left that part out to spare my feelings which would've been unnecessary. So thank you, that was good. I slept with Rory's dad," she said, blurting out the last sentence.  
  
"Let's change the subject," said Max, not wanting to hear about it.  
  
"On my parents' balcony," she pushed on.  
  
"I want to change the subject," he pleaded.  
  
"Okay, well you started it," she pointed out.  
  
"I did not mean for this to become a 'who slept with whom' contest."  
  
"Well, how did it get that way," she asked.  
  
"I don't know. Why do we do this? Why do we let it get weird between us just when it's getting good again?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"I don't like it."  
  
"I don't either."  
  
"And I'm sick of it," he said.  
  
"Well, so am I," she said.  
  
"We can't keep getting close just to have something completely derail us again. And frankly there's only one thing I can think of that could solve it."  
  
"Break up," she exclaimed.  
  
"Ugh," he said, knowing she hadn't understood what he meant.  
  
"Well, I'm not interested in a murder-suicide kind of thing," she joked.  
  
"We should get married," blurted out Max.  
  
Lorelai stood in shock. Her eyes wouldn't shut, remained wide opened, her mouth not finding it's way closed either, no matter how much she tried to. She took about half a step back, looking around the room. She spotted Luke's toolbox, 'Bert' as she'd called it, still sitting near the door. He'd left it again. At that moment, the only option was as clear as crystal.  
  
She walked towards the door, somehow a bit disoriented. She grabbed her coat and walked out the door. "Lorelai!" called out Max, "Where are you going?" He let her go, feeling defeated. Outside, she managed to make it down the stairs before breaking into tears. She remained crouched over, crying, for about two minutes. Then she stood back up, wiped at her tears a bit and walked off.  
  
*  
  
Luke's diner, not too long after  
  
He moved between the tables soundlessly, too preoccupied with his thoughts. What had happened back there? That wasn't like him. Customers complained about his service, but he didn't listen to them. He heard the door open and turned. It was her. She looked awful. She seemed in kind of a daze. Her face was streaked by her makeup and her tears. She'd been crying... hard, the knowledge of which made his heart tear in two.  
  
"Lorelai? What's wrong?" he asked, quickly putting the plates down on a random table and going to her. "Lorelai..." he said again. She was looking down, her body shaking, shivering. "We're closing!" he called behind him. The customers all expressed their complaints, but he wouldn't hear it. "Just go, it's on the house," he instructed, while leading Lorelai to a stool. It was the second time he'd closed the diner for her, they knew to leave.  
  
He sat her down, making sure she wouldn't fall, and then went to lock the door once everyone had gone. He turned back to her. She was just sitting there. She was so upset... he didn't like that, made him feel about ready to punch a wall. "Lorelai," he called again. She looked up. "What's the matter?" he asked, walking behind the counter to retrieve a cup, sensing she needed coffee. "Thank you," she said when he put it down in front of her. Her voice was a bit hoarse.  
  
"Now what happened? I've never seen you like this." The concern in his voice was kind of soothing for her, enough to get her to talk.  
  
"I don't know... I guess I'm just finally taking in what's been happening recently," she said, looking into her cup. She looked up to Luke, right into his eyes as she announced, "Max... proposed."  
  
He was taken aback. "Oh? Well, uh... congratulations, what did you say?" he asked, trying to sound cheerful, when it was so the opposite.  
  
"Oh come on, Luke, don't play with me. I know you don't like him. You don't have to pretend."  
  
"I wasn't..." he started, but she gave him a look and he just looked away.  
  
"It's okay, I understand. And I didn't give him an answer."  
  
He looked up suddenly, as she looked down again. "Why not?" he asked slowly.  
  
She turned her head to the side, glancing out the window as she searched for words. "It just wasn't right. It was more like a... a way to end an argument..."  
  
"You... you were having an argument?" asked Luke.  
  
"Yeah, but it's not important. The point is it should have been more than that, it should have been a magical moment, a moment I'd remember my whole life... light music softly playing in the background, sunlight through the windows... feeling your heart pump faster when you realize what's about to happen... A thousand yellow daisies just lying around the room, leading a path to a beautiful white horse..." she said, lost in her thoughts.  
  
"A horse?" asked Luke, finding this a bit amusing.  
  
"My fantasy, okay? The fact is, Max's proposal was all the opposite... and that was just too much..." She looked at her watch. "I should get home. Thanks for listening." She lifted herself forward and kissed Luke on the cheek. She pulled back and looked into his mesmerized eyes. "Thank you." She got up and walked to the door.  
  
"Lorelai," he called when she'd reached the door.  
  
She turned back. "Yes, Luke?"  
  
"What's the horse for?" he asked.  
  
She smiled. "Goodnight, Luke." He smiled back and she left.  
  
*  
  
The next morning, in front of the Independence Inn  
  
Lorelai ran up to find Michel arguing with Kirk. "Do you understand what I'm trying to explain to you? Do you speak English? Are you listening to me?" he was yelling, then he saw Lorelai come up the steps. "Ah, what took you?" he asked, his French accent jumping in anger.  
  
"Sorry, I got here as quickly as I could. Hi Kirk," she greeted the man.  
  
"Do not address him. He's a scoundrel," insisted Michel.  
  
"I'm just doing my job," stated Kirk.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Lorelai.  
  
"Am I or am I not the head man in charge of floral deliveries?" Michel questioned.  
  
"Yes, and one of the few men I know who would proudly declare that fact."  
  
"I'm just doing my job," repeated Kirk.  
  
"Stop saying that," ordered Michel.  
  
"This has to do with flowers we ordered?" asked Lorelai, trying to understand.  
  
"Flowers we did not order," Michel specified.  
  
"I'm just doing my job," said Kirk a third time.  
  
"Say that one more time and I'm going to punch your nose," said Michel haughtily.  
  
"It must be a mistake," said Lorelai.  
  
"There's no mistake," said Kirk.  
  
"I did not order these flowers," said Michel.  
  
"It says that you have to be here personally to accept them," Kirk told Lorelai.  
  
"That I have to be here? Well that's..." she started, then something struck her. She slowly pulled back and started going to the door.  
  
"I am the head man in charge of flowers," repeated Michel.  
  
"I just do what I'm told," said Kirk.  
  
"I warned you to stop saying that," said Michel.  
  
Inside the Inn  
  
"That's not what I was saying before," said Kirk as he and Michel followed Lorelai in.  
  
"It is a little variation that will still lead to a punch on the nose." Their argument was lost to Lorelai, as she observed what was before her. She was on the verge of tears, happy ones as a difference from the night before. "Daisies no less. As if I would order these pitiful little things. Foul things, these daisies. And just a notch up from weeds. And look how many . I mean, there must be at least..."  
  
"A thousand of them," interrupted Lorelai, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "A thousand yellow daisies." She slowly walked into the middle of the room, surrounded by tiny yellow daisies. She was bathed in the sunlight streaming through the windows, her ears blocking out the bickering of the two men, only listening to the soft classical music playing around the lobby.  
  
"That's right. There's exactly a thousand of them. The order states that there is to be exactly 1000. Not 1001, not 999, but 1000. You ask for a thousand, I bring a thousand. I don't question the orders. I merely fill them."  
  
"Job well done, Mr. Adolph Eichmann," said Michel.  
  
Lorelai was still looking around the room, to all the daisies. She noticed just then, that the path was clear from the front door to the backdoor, which was opened. Just as wondered what the purpose of it was, she heard the sound of what sounded like... "A white horse," she whispered. She walked to the backdoor, following the small passageway, quickening her step as she got closer, with Michel and Kirk following behind.  
  
She reached the door and when she saw what was outside, a small giggle escaped her and she placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh... my... what is this... this beast doing here? I suppose you are responsible for this as well?" asked Michel, looking to Kirk. He, however, was speechless.  
  
Lorelai walked up to the animal, it's height and majesty amazing her. There was a small piece of paper attached to the saddle. "I figured it out," it said. She grinned and quickly mounted the horse. "Lorelai! What are you doing!" yelled Michel, as she set the horse in motion, galloping past a still yelling Michel and dumbfounded Kirk.  
  
*  
  
She sped through the streets, not caring about what the people walking around and driving around were yelling at her. The ride was a release and she loved it. She arrived in record time. She halted the horse and dismounted, almost running through the door of Luke's diner. "LUKE!" she yelled as she barged in.  
  
Everyone looked at her with wide eyes, some looking out the window to the horse standing by the curb. Luke came into the room hurriedly, then came to a full stop when he saw her, her cheeks rosy from the ride, her smile as bright as anything he'd seen. He smiled back, knowing both of them were fully aware of what the other had been feeling.  
  
She made her way to him, dodging tables and customers, keeping her eyes locked with his. Finally she reached him and she closed the gap between them with a sweet and tender kiss. Neither let go or took notice of the gaping customers, nothing else important to them at the moment, except each other. At last, they pulled back, however not letting go of each other.  
  
"Lorelai?"  
  
"Yes, Luke?"  
  
"I know this might seem sudden, and I'll never mention this again if you don't want me to, and I imagine this must be really..."  
  
"Luke!"  
  
"Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me?"  
  
She gave a small laugh. "Luke, we haven't even dated!"  
  
"Will you go out with me?" he asked immediately.  
  
"Yes," she responded just as quickly. They smiled and resumed their kiss, a daisy hanging from Lorelai's hand behind Luke.  
  
The end?  



End file.
